The Invisible Sparks
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Sometimes you couldn't see them, so much as you FELT them. Two forces collide in this threeshot.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi guys! The FINAL voting process is well underway for the Second Annual Profiler's Choice Criminal Minds Awards hosted by Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum. Links can be found on our profiler pages. Please come on over and take a look at this year's incredibly talented nominees and their stories. Two random voters (that vote in ten categories or more) will be selected to receive gift cards from Amazon. com at the completion of this year's awards. So, take a moment and join the fun. Please PM us with any questions.**

_**And don't forget that we've got quite the collection of fellow authors and readers interfacing over at Facebook. Simply friend "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" and/or "Tonnie Fanfiction" to join in the fun. Periodic announcements regarding our awards and ongoing work are announced there.**_

_**Thanks to everyone that continues to read, review, favorite and alert our work! You guys are incredible and we love hearing from each one of you!**_

**Also, if anyone has any threads they would like to see opened at the forum, please let us know!**

* * *

**The Invisible Sparks**

**Chapter One**

Spencer Reid had spent years finely attuning his senses to his surroundings. It was how he'd survived a particularly grueling adolescence that had seemed to extend far longer than the normal decade assigned to such a maturing process. He made it a practice to learn where his dangers hid and then devise ways to successfully avoid them.

Except, the danger sitting directly across from him aboard the empty jet couldn't be so easily evaded. The danger whose eyes were currently boring a hole into his forehead probably wasn't even aware that he represented a threat at all.

But Reid was well aware that danger was not always easily recognizable. He was a profiler, after all. He hunted men and women who made it their lives' missions to blend in with the rest of the population and remain as undetectable as possible.

His intellect recognized that David Rossi posed no threat to his body; however, he knew without reservation that the opposite was indeed true. Rossi would take a bullet for him or any other member of their team. No, it wasn't his physical well being that was threatened by the imposing elder man.

It was his heart.

For weeks, he'd noticed the senior profiler watching him, glancing at him when others were occupied and not paying attention. Nothing overt. He doubted anyone else had even noticed. But he'd noted it.

And, more importantly, he knew the reason behind it.

Mentally cringing as he recalled that disastrous night six weeks past, Reid could still vividly recollect every single moment. Cursing his eidetic memory, he knew that no matter how hard he tried to forget, that those minutes would be permanently seared into his memory. He seldom drank, well aware of the lowering of inhibitions that he always experienced with just one glass or bottle, but the team had just come off of a horrible case and he'd just learned that his mother had suffered another setback in her ongoing treatment for schizophrenia. He'd been lonely and depressed, not a great combination to begin with, but with the added component of alcohol, he'd been a catastrophe in the making.

Luckily, the bartender had confiscated his keys and cell phone when she'd realized that he was drinking alone. And after she'd cut him off, she'd dialed the first number in his speed dial. And since D-A, came before D,E, in the alphabet, it had been Rossi rather than Morgan that had shown up to give him a ride home.

He knew he should have entered last names first.

In hindsight, he was more than a little stymied by the fact that Dave had arrived himself to collect him rather than send a cab. It wasn't as if they'd ever been particularly close. Dave gravitated toward Hotch and Reid had always seemed to lean toward Derek. He'd never questioned the why of it...always assuming that their age difference and lack of common interests had just naturally created a distance neither of them had ever bothered to breach.

Except in his inebriated state, he'd forgotten the boundaries. Somehow in his alcohol induced stupor, he'd managed to forget all the lines that you were never supposed to cross with your friends and colleagues, and when David Rossi had wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him from falling down drunk outside his apartment door, he'd mistaken that innocent touch for masculine interest...and responded accordingly, pressing a wet kiss against the legendary Rossi's partially open mouth.

Stranger than that had been was the absolutely unexpected fact that Dave had responded to him. He hadn't been so drunk that he couldn't recall of the feel of the older man's sensuous tongue sliding against his, rough in texture, but gentle in technique, kissing him back. He hadn't been deaf either, he thought grimly, the sound of Rossi's deep growl of approval still echoed in his ears.

As quickly as the illicit encounter had began, however, it had ended even more abruptly. Dave had finally realized who he was kissing in a public hallway and shoved him inside his apartment, tossing him his keys and closing the door firmly between them a second later.

They'd never discussed it. Never even had a nervous, whispered conversation regarding the incident. It was as though it had never happened at all. And if it wasn't for the obvious strain between them, he might have been able to convince himself that his overactive imagination had invented the moment in a tequila induced trance.

Stranger things had happened, although he normally blamed them on the misfiring of synapses in his genetically-disposed to disease brain.

That wasn't what happened, however. He knew it, and so did the man currently watching him flip a page he hadn't bothered reading in the paperback book he held. Something was happening between them. He couldn't define it...couldn't even begin to fathom it. But, he couldn't deny what was happening.

"You're watching me again," Spencer said quietly without looking up from his book, finally deciding to break the silence.

"Excuse me?" Dave replied gruffly, lifting his chin against Spencer's slight accusation.

Inserting his bookmark carefully before slowly closing his book and dropping it in his lap, Reid forced himself to raise his head and face the man across from him. He'd dodged looking directly into Dave's face for weeks for fear of what he'd find hovering in the other man's eyes. He'd expected to find censure...anger...and perhaps a shade of revulsion. Instead, behind those heavy lidded eyes, he saw only curiosity. "I said that you've been watching me."

"I have," Dave agreed, not bothering to deny the obvious. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he raised one brow as he waited for the other man to answer.

"Why?"

"I suppose I'm trying to figure you out," Dave shrugged easily, watching the younger man's face closely as if he could find the answers he needed somehow concealed there. Of course, he'd spent weeks trying that...to no avail. Spencer Reid didn't show anyone anything he didn't want anyone else to see.

"What is it you want to know exactly?" Reid asked hesitantly, his lips twitching as he tried to determine how he could answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hi guys! The FINAL voting process is well underway for the Second Annual Profiler's Choice Criminal Minds Awards hosted by Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum. Links can be found on our profiler pages. Please come on over and take a look at this year's incredibly talented nominees and their stories. Two random voters (that vote in ten categories or more) will be selected to receive gift cards from Amazon. com at the completion of this year's awards. So, take a moment and join the fun. Please PM us with any questions.**

_**And don't forget that we've got quite the collection of fellow authors and readers interfacing over at Facebook. Simply friend "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" and/or "Tonnie Fanfiction" to join in the fun. Periodic announcements regarding our awards and ongoing work are announced there.**_

_**Thanks to everyone that continues to read, review, favorite and alert our work! You guys are incredible and we love hearing from each one of you!**_

**Also, if anyone has any threads they would like to see opened at the forum, please let us know!**

* * *

**The Invisible Sparks**

**Chapter Two**

"You kissed me," Dave said, making it a statement of fact, void of any lingering judgment.

"You kissed me back," Reid retorted defensively, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment as he realized how childish and immature his response must seem to the more experienced man. "I mean...I wasn't so inebriated that I don't remember what transpired between us," he added as he fluttered his hand, his voice a bit quieter.

Narrowing one eyebrow as he merely watched, Rossi remarked, "It's not as though I've denied it, kid."

"That's true," Reid agreed uncomfortably, shifting against the suddenly uncomfortable seat. "You haven't acknowledged it at all," he noted, turning his head to stare out the window.

"That goes both ways, Spencer," Dave countered. "Honestly, I wasn't sure how to approach the subject. I wasn't even certain that you remembered what happened."

"I remember. Everything," Reid said meaningfully, emphasizing the last word. Like the fact that your body indicated that you were extremely enjoying yourself, he added silently.

"I think that's fairly obvious even to me now," Rossi sighed as he shrugged. "Listen, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to put you in an awkward position, Reid. Not because I was trying to deny what happened that night."

"What did happen that night?" Reid asked curiously, quickly glancing toward Rossi, letting his eyes linger for a moment. "I mean, you're obviously not gay. You've been married three times."

"That doesn't preclude me being attracted to a man, Reid," Rossi returned evenly. "I assume you're gay?"

"I'm not aroused by women," Reid admitted as he shrugged stiffly. "I've never specifically defined myself as homosexual, though. I don't really have any experience with either sex that would amount to anything."

"None at all?" Rossi asked gently.

"Well," Reid murmured, taking a moment to form his thoughts, "I tried once when I was in graduate school with a fellow in the philosophy program. I couldn't..." he faltered, his face turning beat red.

"Rise to the occasion?" Dave offered helpfully.

"If that is a quaint euphemism for sustaining arousal, then, that is correct," Reid replied, flashing Rossi a nervous smile. He hadn't ever broached this subject with anyone, let alone another man, and now that he was in the middle of the conversation, he found it all to be slightly surreal.

"That wasn't a problem you had the other night," Rossi remarked as he grinned arrogantly. "All staffs were flying high and proud," he reminisced, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Clearing his throat, Reid felt the flush climbing his neck. "I...ah...no, all systems were fully functional."

"I noticed that," Dave averred, his eyes glinting as he shifted in his seat.

Closing his eyes briefly as he felt the other man's gaze boring into him again, Reid swallowed. "It's a body's natural reaction to..."

"Stimulation," Dave supplied easily as he winked. "I'm aware, Doctor. I've been around the block a time or two myself."

"Were you?" Reid asked faintly, forcing himself to look at the imposing man seated across from him. He tried to read behind that dark gaze, to search for unspoken answers to the questions he so desperately wanted answered, but he couldn't decipher a single thing.

"What?"

"Stimulated," Reid managed, silently cursing David Rossi to the outer ring of Hell. He wasn't so naive as to believe that the well known profiler didn't know exactly what he was talking about.

"You couldn't tell?" Dave smirked, leaning his head back against the leather seat as he met Reid's gaze squarely. "I thought you were a genius."

"I am," Reid retorted sharply, the dig at his intelligence distracting him.

"I was...stimulated, Spencer," Dave said slowly, lowering his voice. "I'm still stimulated."

"Wh-You are?" Reid gulped, his eyes widening as his focus suddenly shifted. "But, I thought...you date women."

"And once upon a time, I dated men, too," Rossi informed him dismissively. "I'm an equal opportunity lover. Someone's sex doesn't attract me to them. The person attracts me."

Reid nodded, able to understand that. "You're bi-sexual then."

"If you want to put a label on it," Dave replied easily, watching Reid's face for a reaction. "I honestly haven't been with a man in over a decade. Before that night, I'd assumed that those urges had passed. Imagine my surprise when I found myself responding to you," he added as he smiled. "I think the bigger question here is if you were attracted to me in particular or if your body was just responding to the nearest male in your vicinity that evening. Are you interested in me, Spencer?" Dave asked softly.

"My accelerated heart and respiration rate coupled with my damp palms and difficulty verbalizing simple coherent thoughts would indicate an affirmative answer," Reid mumbled, the technical terms an easy explanation. "Then there are the invisible sparks...," he sighed.

Lips twitching in amusement, Dave tilted his head. "Say again?"

"The invisible sparks," Reid explained, unable to find another phrase for the phenomenon. "When I'm around you now, the air changes...electrifies. It's like two opposing forces collide and create these sparks that I can't see, but..."

"They shock the hell out of you all the same." Dave nodded slowly, more than a little relieved to know he hadn't imagined that sensation between them.

"Yes," Reid said in relief, bobbing his head enthusiastically. "You felt it, too?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm feeling it right now," Dave replied slowly, his voice like velvet as his eyes narrowed on Spencer. "The question now that we've acknowledged it becomes what do we do about it?"

"I don't know," Reid replied softly, his hands tightening around his seat as he felt the hot caress of Dave's eyes wandering over his body. "We have several options. We can go on as we have been," he suggested.

"Ignoring it?" Dave snorted. "How's that been working out for you, Doc? Cause I gotta say, I've only gotten more and more frustrated during the last few weeks." Leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees, Dave steepled his fingers, resting them against his firm lips for a moment. "I have an alternate proposition for you," he countered evenly.

"Okay," Reid said with a slight nod, drawing in a deep breath. "What?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hi guys! The FINAL voting process is well underway for the Second Annual Profiler's Choice Criminal Minds Awards hosted by Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum. Links can be found on our profiler pages. Please come on over and take a look at this year's incredibly talented nominees and their stories. Two random voters (that vote in ten categories or more) will be selected to receive gift cards from Amazon. com at the completion of this year's awards. So, take a moment and join the fun. Please PM us with any questions.**

_**And don't forget that we've got quite the collection of fellow authors and readers interfacing over at Facebook. Simply friend "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" and/or "Tonnie Fanfiction" to join in the fun. Periodic announcements regarding our awards and ongoing work are announced there.**_

_**Thanks to everyone that continues to read, review, favorite and alert our work! You guys are incredible and we love hearing from each one of you!**_

**Also, if anyone has any threads they would like to see opened at the forum, please let us know!**

* * *

**The Invisible Sparks**

**Chapter Three**

"We've already recognized that there is a definitive attraction between us, yes?" he asked, waiting a moment for Reid to affirm his words. Seeing another small inclination of his colleague's head, Dave smiled encouragingly. "Then, why don't we see where it goes? I'm sure we both have things to learn about each other. What's the harm in getting to know each other better?"

"We already know each other," Reid countered as he frowned. "And based on our previous encounters, I seem to...irritate you."

"And I intimidate you," Rossi countered smoothly. "Did you ever think that might have been because of this thing that's been simmering between us, Spencer? It didn't just miraculously occur that night. That night only spurred us toward each other. We were already gravitating their naturally on our own."

Well, he couldn't deny that he'd been intrigued by the older man since he'd walked into their unit...well, his unit, a few years ago. For months, he'd been desperate to compare the man that sat at their round table with the myth he'd read about. Over time, he'd realized that David Rossi was a man like any other, made up of components both good and bad. But, his interest had not dissipated. If anything, he'd been ever more eager to discover who the elder man was.

"I suppose that's true," Reid agreed. "At least for me. I didn't think you were interested in me, though."

"Your mind is a gift, Spencer. Gay, straight, or bi...anyone would be in awe of it. I'm not any different," Rossi replied gently, his fingers gripping slightly against the leather armrest as the plane dipped to the right. "I didn't approach you before now because I didn't want you to mistake my genuine attraction to you for a more paternal interest. Spencer, I've got no interest in being your father figure or your mentor. I don't have the patience for that crap and I don't want to mislead you about it now. But, if you want to get to know each other, I'm more than a little interested in that."

"I've never been interested in you as a filler for either of those roles, Dave," Spencer returned slowly, meeting the older man's eyes with a steady gaze of his own.

"Good," Dave grunted. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favor."

Smiling faintly, Reid shook his head. "I've never seen you that way. You're safe."

Nodding, Dave blew out a long breath. "So where's that leave us? Would pursuing something outside the Bureau be something you might be interested in doing?"

"I think so." Reid nodded, his head bobbing slowly. "We'd...you'd..."

"Baby steps, Spencer," Dave soothed, reaching out a hand to squeeze the younger man's knee reassuringly. "How about a date?"

"A date?" Reid echoed, cocking his head.

"Yeah, a date," Rossi repeated calmly. "I take you out for food and maybe a movie? We spend time with each other?"

"Well, I like eating and I do enjoy a good movie," Reid mused aloud, his head tilting as he considered that option.

"Glad to know you don't consider those activities too mundane," Dave muttered as he winked. "Tomorrow night?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound like the overeager teenager he felt like.

"You're serious?" Reid breathed, staring unabashedly now at the older profiler.

"I'm serious," Dave stated firmly, his tone unyielding as he met Reid's eyes. "I don't like to live with regret, Spencer. And I really think that if you and I don't at least try to get to know each other better, we'll both be disappointed that we didn't."

Shocked, Reid blinked in return, trying to find something witty to say, but coming up beyond empty. "Okay," he finally managed through lips that barely moved. "I'd like that...I think."

"Well," Dave replied offering Reid his trademark crooked grin as he settled back in his seat while the plane dipped slightly, "I'll do my best tomorrow evening to make you certain."

Lowering his lashes, Spencer could feel his blush deepening under the intensity of Rossi's gaze. "I hope so," he said quietly.

"Spence, come sit beside me," Dave urged the younger man when he turned to stare out the window again.

"Why?" Reid asked suspiciously, turning his head to eye Rossi quizzically.

"Just do it," Rossi sighed, gesturing to the seat beside him. "I don't bite. Often," he added with a wicked grin.

Unfastening his seat belt, Reid shifted to the seat beside Dave, stiffly sitting beside him. "Okay," Reid murmured, a little uneasy as he watched Dave extend his hand.

"Hold my hand, Spence."

"I'm sorry?" Reid replied, staring at the proffered hand. "Why?" he asked curiously.

Lips twitching, Dave knew the genius was honestly puzzled by his request. "Because," Rossi replied patiently, "this is what two people do when they're dating. They hold hands. They kiss..."

"We've already done that," Reid pointed out. "Prior to the decision to date," he noted with clinical observation.

"We did. You were drunk, and I was horny," Dave retorted as he grinned. "We can't count that. Next time, we can count it."

Next time, Reid's mind echoed. He'd already decided there was going to be a next time. Suddenly suffused with a new warmth, Reid slowly took Dave's hand in his, watching as Rossi twined their fingers together, the roughened slide of Dave's stronger palm surrounding his own.

"You've got fingers like a piano player," Rossi commented gently, studying the long elegant fingers he held.

"You've got a woodworker's hands," Reid returned, staring down at the thick fingers. "Slightly rough and callused."

"You mind?" Dave asked, raising an eyebrow as he moved his eyes to Reid's face.

"No." Reid shook his head. "I was just noting the differences."

"There are a lot of differences between us, Spencer," Rossi confirmed quietly. "But I think we'll find that we have a lot in common, too. Part of the fun in dating someone lies in the discovery of all the things you didn't know," he explained, squeezing gently.

"I guess it's a good thing one of us has some experience with the phenomena," Reid returned, shyly glancing at Dave.

"True," Dave returned, "But, I'm willing to bet, there are some things that you can teach me, too. We just have to find what they are. And I, for one, am looking forward to the journey."

And as Reid relaxed beside Dave, his hand surrounded with the sure, confident touch of a man that made his own rules, Spencer began to realize that he was looking forward to it as well.

He had a very distinct feeling that his future was going to be far better than his past had ever been.

_**Finis**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: So, that's the story. Is anyone interested in seeing this storyline arc continue? If not, I really don't want to waste my time. But, I do have a few ideas...so, if there is interest, please let me know:-)**_


End file.
